Direct

 James doesn’t say that in certain extreme circumstances or in some cases, friendship with the world can be construed as enmity with God; he comes right out and says it and leaves no room for debate. Friendship with the world is enmity with God, every time, without fail, and without exception. If there were exceptions, the Word would have told us it was so because the last thing God wants is for His children to be confused, uncertain, and second-guessing their principles.

While some people find directness uncomfortable and off-putting, I find it refreshing. I’ve been in churches where the mindset of the world had so permeated everything that people took umbrage when someone would read a Bible verse verbatim that they didn’t agree with or that hammered at their conscience. You could see their face change as they took on a pallor, and it was all they could do to walk casually out of the sanctuary and not make a beeline for the nearest exit.

When someone speaks directly, whether from person to person or from the pulpit, they are not trying to hurt your feelings or make you uncomfortable; they are rightly dividing the Word, and it’s not something to be looked down upon and jeered but something to be appreciated and valued.

We’re surrounded by deceit and obfuscation every day. From advertising to politicians to the little old lady insisting it’s not her dog leaving little surprises on the sidewalk because her baby is civilized and would never do such a thing, lies have become such an ever-present reality that when we hear the truth, it grates, and we bristle at its directness.

Unlike the guy on TV who’s trying to sell you the equivalent of magic beans, the truth is the truth, self-contained and unyielding. It’s not looking to make a dollar off of your naiveté, it’s not looking to talk you into a timeshare, nor is it trying to ingratiate itself by deception and flattery; it just is.

Jesus came to set us free from the influence, control, and ways of the world. He didn’t come hoping we’d share a piece of our heart with Him, maybe a corner in an upper room somewhere, far away from prying eyes and our more erudite friends. It’s the way of some today. They keep Jesus locked in a room somewhere for fear of Him embarrassing them at an inopportune time, like when one needs to stand up for the truth or defend His name. We can’t have that. People don’t need to know that you’re a follower of Christ; it would just create tension, wouldn’t it?

We have enough excuses to choke a whale when it comes to not being outspoken about our faith, don’t we? We don’t like the awkwardness; what if someone unfriends us on Facebook; we don’t deal well with confrontation, and the list goes on for miles. The truth of it is that Jesus said if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father. Is the rejection of your fake friends a more fearful prospect than being denied by Christ before the Father? If not, then be bold and fearless in declaring to the world that you have been redeemed, sanctified, and reconciled to God.

Perhaps if more people told the truth, if more people were honest, if more people were more concerned about the veracity of the things they say instead of whether what they say placates the individual they’re sitting across from, the world would be different, and we could all collectively say that water is wet, the sun is bright, men can’t get pregnant, and the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.

There is a difference between faithful, obedient, saved, sanctified, and religious. There are plenty of religious people in the world. You see them every weekend in their Sunday best, going through the motions and sitting in a pew, but come Monday, they blend back in with society, doing as they do, speaking as they speak, and delighting in the things they delight in. Other than that hour on Sunday, there is nothing different in what they pursue, prioritize, or are passionate about than those of the world.

What you pursue, what you devote your time to, what you devote your energy to reveal what the desire of your heart is. We can either be friends of God or friends of the world, but we can’t be both. To befriend one is to be in enmity with the other. If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. You might not want to; you might think you can play both sides against the middle or walk that fine line between not wholly God’s and not altogether worldly. However, James insists that it’s impossible.

To befriend one is to make an enemy of the other.

James 4:5, “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?”’

We make the conscious choice of pursuing either God or the world. We pursue one at the expense of the other, whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not. The spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously, but the flesh has other ideas. It’s why we must always be aware of the tug and pull of both the spirit and the flesh and choose the spirit over the flesh. The flesh knows that the more you grow spiritually, the weaker it will become.

The more you seek God, the more you will turn your back on the world, and the flesh knows that once you discover the glory of God, once you discover the beauty of being in His presence, nothing the world has to offer can hold a candle. This is why the attacks come hot and heavy any time someone begins to seek after God and draw closer to Him.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.